By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Federal Government said it has began preparations for the evacuation of Nigerian students trapped in the Sudanese crisis with the provision of over 13 buses to convey the first batch of 637 students to Nigeria.
In a statement a joint statement issued by the Humanitarian Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry ion Friday , 28th, April 2023, in Abuja the Ministers noted that the first batch of 13 buses conveying six hundred and thirty
seven (637) evacuees had arrived the identified safe borders at Aswan, Egypt and
are undergoing necessary documentation and clearance before admission into the Egyptian territory for their eventual evacuation to Nigeria.
The movement of the second batch of 29 buses will commence on Saturday, 29th
April, 2023. The evacuees are advised to be at the designated locations with only
one luggage. Contrary to insinuations on the social media, Embassy staff are very
much on ground in Khartoum to coordinate the evacuation exercise to the very end.
However, students and other Nigerians awaiting evacuation from Khartoum, Sudan are have been advised to cooperate with them in order to ensure orderliness and
proper documentation while embarking on the buses. This will go a long way in
speeding up the process and avoiding unnecessary delays with documentation and
clearance upon arrival at the Aswan, Egypt.
Furthermore, the general public has been advised to discountenance mischievous and ignorant unverified information being
circulated on the social media.
Government said while it empathizes with affected Nigerians to get them out of the war zone in time record, urged all evacuees to cooperate with ongoing efforts aimed
at ensuring the safe return of every Nigerian trapped in Sudan.
Meanwhile, government said that the outcry over the negotiated sum of $1.2 million for the buses hired for
the exercise, is uncalled for, adding that the safe landing of those trapped is important.
Government also appreciated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and others who have assisted eight Nigerians fleeing the war in Sudan to safety in it’s Territory who would soon be airlifted back to Nigeria.
The first batch of Nigerian evacuees who have arrived Aswan are
expected to be airlifted to Nigeria in the coming hours by the Nigerian Air Force and
Air Peace airline.
